ESA’s first
Mars orbiter will provide an important helping hand when the second arrives at the
Red Planet in October.
Following lift off in March, the
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (
TGO) and the
Schiaparelli lander are now enroute to
Mars, with arrival set for
19 October.
Once orbiting Mars, TGO will begin analysing rare gases in the planet’s atmosphere, especially methane, which on
Earth points to active geological or biological processes.
Meanwhile,
Schiaparelli will demonstrate the technology needed to make a controlled landing. But they have to arrive at the planet first, and that’s where the 13 year-old
Mars Express will lend a crucial helping hand – or, rather, ear. On
16 October, Schiaparelli will separate and, three days later, descend and land as TGO enters orbit. On landing day, ESA’s Mars Express, which has been delivering spectacular science data since
2003, will record signals from Schiaparelli for mission control to confirm a safe arrival and later reconstruct its descent. The orbit of Mars Express was adjusted in February for it to be in the right part of the martian sky to hear the signals transmitted from the descending Schiaparelli. On 19 October, about 80 minutes before landing, Schiaparelli will wake up and a few minutes later begin transmitting a beacon signal. Mars Express will already have pointed Melacom’s small antenna to the spot above the planet where Schiaparelli will appear, and will begin recording the beacon, turning to follow the descent path. Melacom’s software was recently updated to be compatible with Schiaparelli’s transmitter. On 15 June, it will be tested while flying over
NASA’s
Curiosity rover, which will transmit a signal similar to Schiaparelli’s. Mars Express won’t be the only set of ‘ears’ listening in to Schiaparelli’s descent that day. At Mars, NASA’s
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will monitor signals from Schiaparelli, but only after landing, as it comes within view. TGO, while firing its engine to brake into orbit, will record Schiaparelli’s descent and landing, but these data can only be downloaded some hours later
. In the following days, Mars Express and NASA’s three orbiters will each serve as data relays, overflying Schiaparelli’s landing site in
Meridiani Planum once or twice per day, picking up signals from the lander during its surface mission of two–four days, and relaying them to Earth. Mars Express will also contribute to Schiaparelli’s mission with remote-sensing measurements over the landing site for several weeks before.
- published: 16 Jun 2016
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